What’s New in 2XKO Closed Beta

2XKO Closed Beta starts September 9, 2025. We've changed a ton about the game since our playtests, so here's the rundown on what to expect.

About 2XKO Closed Beta

We're keeping 2XKO online once Closed Beta starts, outside of any necessary maintenance. We'll be deploying our backend systems at a larger scale for the first time, so expect to see some bugs, but we'll improve as we go.

To get the game running in this timeframe, Closed Beta will only be available for PC. This is the start of the full rollout of the game—after this phase, our goal is to get more and more players into 2XKO until everyone is included.

We'll invite new players at the start of Closed Beta and while it's ongoing. Sign up at https://2xko.riotgames.com/en-us/beta/. If you played on PC in Alpha Lab 1 or 2, you're already in. If you played on console during either playtest, you'll also automatically have access through the Riot Client on PC.

All progress will be wiped when Closed Beta ends, including any Ranked and Champion Mastery progress. Closed Beta players will receive an exclusive "Challenger" player title at launch.

Champions

We've got some new additions to the 2XKO roster for Closed Beta. Blitzcrank, the Great Steam Golem, will be playable for the first time ever. Read their movelist, watch their reveal to see them in action, and watch their dev update for a full breakdown of how they work.

Vi, the Piltover Enforcer, will also be playable at home for the first time, coming off of her appearance at Evo 2025. Take a look at her movelist, gameplay video, and dev update to get an idea of how she fights.

During Closed Beta, Ahri, Braum, Darius, Ekko, Illaoi, and Yasuo will be playable by default. Jinx, Blitzcrank, and Vi can be unlocked from the Champions tab with Champion Tokens or Credits. Champion Tokens are earned from completing the First Fight tutorial, and Credits are earned from completing missions.

Expect to see some balance and quality of life updates for each champ. Scroll to the bottom of this page or click here for a detailed breakdown.

New Content

Champion Mastery

Complete champion-specific missions to unlock unique rewards. In Closed Beta, you'll be able to earn the following items for each champion:

• A full set of avatar clothing.
  • This can contain 5-7 pieces depending on the champion.
• 4 player titles.
• 4 stickers.
• 1 animated sticker.
• 2 player cards.
• 3 champion taunts.
• 1 Mastery chroma.

Champion Mastery progress will be reset when Closed Beta ends.

Match Replays

Match Replays are new to Closed Beta. Visit your player profile by selecting the medal icon at the top of the 2XKO client, then select a game from the "match history" tab to rewatch it.

Check the top of the screen for your pause/play, skip ahead, and skip back inputs.

Tutorials

Play tutorials by selecting the graduation cap icon at the top of the 2XKO client, which will take you to the Learn tab.

There are several new tutorials in Closed Beta, including lessons about each Fuse. Fuses are different playstyle modifiers you choose from at the beginning of each match. Some grant your team unique abilities, while others influence your team's overall strategy.

As in Alpha Lab 1 and 2, Double Down, Juggernaut, and Sidekick Fuse are available by default. 2X Assist and Freestyle Fuse are now unlocked by completing their respective tutorials.

Modes

Closed Beta will introduce Offline modes, which are new to 2XKO. These modes are especially important for competitive events, and we're excited to get them into tournament organizers' hands. (If you're interested in running 2XKO events, check out our Community Competition Guidelines.)

Ranked mode will be enabled on September 18, during the second week of Closed Beta. Ranked progress will reset after Closed Beta ends.

Cosmetics

Closed Beta will have several types of cosmetics available.

During Closed Beta, there are no champion skins available, and only Credits—currency that can be earned from completing missions—can be used to buy cosmetics. There's nothing you can buy with real money.

Battle Pass

Unlike in Alpha Lab 2, there will not be a Battle Pass in Closed Beta.

Chromas

Every champion in Closed Beta will have a variety of chromas to choose from. Chromas change a champion's color palette.

Player Cards

Player cards are a new way to express yourself, and will be visible on your player profile. You can earn them as Champion Mastery rewards. Equip them in the Cards and Titles section of the Collection tab.

Stages

In Closed Beta the Bridge of Progress, Scuttler's Strand, Spirit Hills, and The Brazen Hydra stages are unlocked by default. Annihilator's Reach is available for purchase from the Stages section of the Collection tab.

Note: you might have spotted a Zaun stage in Blitzcrank's gameplay trailer, but that won't be available just yet. Look out for a future update.

Taunts

Each champion will have one taunt unlocked by default. Earn more from Champion Mastery rewards.

Core Gameplay

If this is your first time hearing about 2XKO, avert your eyes! This section is super in-depth, and you should just log in and try the game out. If you have tried the game before and you're curious about what we've done since you last played, read on.

We've been making a lot of changes to the game based on your feedback. In Alpha Lab 2, we noticed matches ran longer than desired based on a few different factors, including the strength of defensive options, an abundance of Break meter, high combo starter proration, and an ineffective comeback mechanic.

After Alpha Lab 2, it became clear that we needed to focus on four key areas to bring the gameplay experience to a level that we were happy with. Here they are:

• Match Pacing
  • To improve match pacing, we made changes to starting Break meter, starting Super meter, Super damage, and combo starter proration, effectively upping damage across the board.
• Offensive vs. Defensive Options
  • In Alpha Lab 2, some defensive options didn't have direct counterplay, and others let the defender get away very easily. In light of that, we took a look at wake up rolls, push assist, retreating guard, and dashing.
• Comeback Potential
  • The above changes caused higher lethality overall, so comeback potential is more important than ever. We adjusted Fury and Break meter generation to make sure matches are still anybody's game until the very end.
• Match Engagement
  • During Alpha Lab 2, we noticed there were certain points in a match where players wouldn't interact. Whether they were waiting for one of their champions to heal, or trying to build Break or Super meter, this pattern caused a ton of time outs. To encourage getting into the fight, we changed gray health generation and Super meter rules.

We think we've made strong strides in creating a more cohesive, engaging, and compelling system, but we know we won't get everything right immediately. We'll continue to monitor how balanced our offensive and defensive mechanics feel, movement effectiveness, comeback potential, and the power levels of Fuses.

You might notice even more changes to core gameplay when you're in-game, but the section below covers a lot of them!

Super Meter

• Super meter resets between rounds. By default, teams start each round with one bar of Super meter.
  • If a team is using Juggernaut or Sidekick Fuse, they'll start each round with two bars of Super meter.
• After a successful parry, damage scaling on the next hit landed is now slightly reduced. (It'll deal a bit more damage than it did before.)
• Low parry no longer applies damage scaling to the next hit landed.

Break Meter

• Break meter now starts at 75%.

• Break meter bonus while getting hit by long combos has been increased.

• Break meter bonus no longer increases during Handshake Tags or cinematics.

• On champion KO, no longer receive bonus 50% Break meter.

Defense Tools

• Backdashing, jump blocking, Retreating Guard, and pushblock are all slightly less powerful.
  • Pushblock now has a longer cooldown, and the pushback distance has been decreased.
  • Retreating Guard travel distance has been decreased.
• All attacks from Assist champions are now mid attacks. (i.e. Assists can never be low or overhead.)
• Counter hits now grant meter, a damage boost, and additive hit stun.
• Counterhit and attacks now grant an untechable state against airborne opponents.
• Counterhit attacks now grant additional air hit stun.
• Fury Break has been buffed. Duration, chip damage from normal and special attacks, ground speed, and defense boosts have all been increased.
• Crossup protection has been reduced from three frames to one frame.
• Getup attack is now easier to punish from air block.

Additional Changes

• Gray health (champion health that can regenerate while tagged out) recovers more slowly.
• Attacks generate less gray health overall.
• Super damage and minimum scaling (the floor for how much an attack can deal after being reduced by damage scaling) has been increased.
• and attack proration (damage reduction on hitting the same move repeatedly within one combo) has been reduced.
• When Assist champions take damage, 75% is dealt as gray health. The rest is unrecoverable. (Previously, 100% of damage to Assist champions was dealt as gray health.)
• Throws deal more damage, have a longer recovery time, and cause a counter hit state on whiff.
• Throwable volumes are more consistent.
• Throws now have new visual effects to show the tech window more clearly.
• Forward and air throws now cause hard knockdown. Grounded recovery rolls can now be thrown.
• Limit Strike no longer causes hard knockdown.
• Air throw landing recovery has been reduced.
• Air throws are now consistent across champions and hit slightly behind.
• You can no longer Handshake Tag when a throw doesn't connect with an opponent.
• Chain-dashing is easier.
• Backdash travel distances have been reduced for all champions.
• Jump startup has been slowed from three to four frames
• Timing restriction on Double Down has been removed. (You can now enter Double Down at any time during the point champion's Super.)
• Juggernaut Fuse has been buffed.
  • While using Juggernaut, gain more Break meter on a clean hit. Pushblock now costs Break meter instead of Super meter, and pushblocking pushes both champions.
  • On a clean Eject hit, the Juggernaut player will recover a small amount of gray health. The Ejected opponent will lose a large amount of their gray health.

Quality of Life

• When landing an attack, pressing ( Dash, parry, etc.) will now properly result in a Parry or Dash, rather than another attack.
• You can now enter Training mode directly from any online lobby by opening the menu. This also works when in a duo. Doing this will remove you from the lobby you were in.
• When queue times are long, our matchmaking system will look for opponents from other lobbies. If you find a match this way, you'll see a hologram of your opponent's avatar in your lobby.
• You can now enter the Casual or Ranked lobby directly from Training mode by opening the menu. This also works when in a duo.
  • Known bug: if you enter Training mode from the main menu and choose "Go to Casual Lobby" or "Go to Ranked Lobby" from the Training mode menu, you'll return to the main menu. These options only work if you use them in a Casual or Ranked lobby.
• The controls menu has been completely revamped. Remapping controls should take less time across any compatible peripheral.
• In-game player reporting is now enabled. It can be accessed from the Avatar Interaction menu in lobbies, Match History, the Social panel, and chat messages.
• In-game player blocking is now enabled. It can be accessed from the Avatar Interaction menu and Match History.

Known Issues

Keep an eye on our player support site to track any known issues or bugs.